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Customer Reviews and Ratings for Garmin Oregon 550 with Camera and Canada Topo |
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90% of our reviewers recommend this item.
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JC Pack
Granby.qc.ca
Feb 2, 2012
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PLAISANT GPS
Très intéressant, navigation complète et facile. Il faut jouer avec souvent pour le maitriser à fond. Recommamndé.
Recommend? YES
3 viewers found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
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Tommyjoe
Uxbridge, Ontario
Jan 23, 2012
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Pros: a pleasure to use.
Cons: needs a more in depth manual
This unit seems much improved over earlier generations of GPS devices. It is a pleasure to use but takes a while to learn to use its many features. I have yet to try everything and still have a lot to learn but on first observation there are only a couple of draw backs that come to mind. If you set the back lighting to minimum, for battery preservation, it is hard to see the screen in some light conditions. I carry a small pen light for this purpose. I also find that the on line manual could be much better. The device is quite complex, and although relitavely easy to use, requires a lot of trial and error to master some features. A better manual would help.
Recommend? YES
9 viewers found this helpful.
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Peter
Fredericton New Brunswick
Jan 13, 2012
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GREAT FUN!
Pros: see above
Cons: a good deal, but still pricey, manual a bit thin
We have more fun with this unit in the past few weeks than we ever had with another brand GPS that we struggled with for more than a year. Like the easy of operation, the uploading/downloading, the wireless tranfer from one unit to another, the camera, the lock screen feature, the size and weight, came with batteries & charger. We wanted a good one and we feel we sure got one.
Recommend? YES
6 viewers found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
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hearingaidman
Owen Sound, ON
Sep 30, 2011
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OREGON 550
Pros: speed, touch and the many menu choices
Cons: none that i can see now
Second review for our 550. It appears I did not do something correctly and that was the reason for no maps showing on the GPS. It must be my age! I was in the GPS profile mode and should have been recreational or automotive modes to have streets. All is good now and we like it a lot.The touch screen is very nice to use
Recommend? YES
8 viewers found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
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hearingaidman
Owen Sound, ON
Sep 28, 2011
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DISAPPOINTED
Pros: the touch screen is lovely and easy to use
Cons: as above in the review
I reviewed the various Oregon models on your site before choosing the 550. I guess I was not careful enough in reading as there were no street maps included in the GPS. I have purchased the city maps from Garmin but have not been able to load them into the Oregon. It does not appear to be friendly when trying to load and set up the Oregon.
Recommend? NO OPINION
8 viewers found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
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Cranlord
Quesnel, BC
Aug 18, 2011
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BEST DROPPED GPS OF OVER 50 FEET
Pros: very durable, dropped 50 plus feet off a ski chair
Cons: none
I bought the Oregon 550 for my husband last year for our 20th anniversary. We celebrated our anniversary in Whistler BC. When going up to Peak to Peak on the high speed chair lifts I wanted to put a stupid paper map into my camera bag. Out popped the brand new GPS off the chair 50 plus feet at tower nine, rocks below and in black bear grazing country. I cried and cried. Once at the top we were going to hike down to find it but due to the black bears on the mountain we were not allowed. A worker for whistler took his ATV and found it. I feared for the worst but it had hit the right hand bottom corner on grass and once turned on worked perfectly. We have taken this GPS everywhere,he uses it mainly for quadding and we used it back east for road directins in Ontario. Our favorite is our hike up Mount Robson where he took a photo of the side of the mountain and it looks like a photo taken on the side of the ocean in Hawaii. We totally recommend this this product.
Recommend? YES
25 viewers found this helpful.
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brian
bc
May 22, 2011
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GOOD
Pros: gets good and quick sat lock
Cons: operating manual instructions not very good
easy to use and to load maps really accurate.base map not so good
Recommend? YES
25 viewers found this helpful.
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John
Prince George, BC
May 2, 2011
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GREAT GPS FOR HIKING
Pros: touch screen, filing system, gps sensitivity
Cons: manual, camera
My initial impression was, "I'm not sure this is good value for the money." After using the unit for the better part of a year, I no longer have reservations. This is a great unit for hiking, with good GPS sensitivity. Screen Great visibility in high light outdoor environments, less so in dull ones. Sometimes have to orient so that sunlight falls more directly onto the screen in order to see. The touch screen works well. I never named waypoints in the past as it was too slow. With the touch screen, I now name everything. One reservation... Navigating through menus with the touch screen is fast, but when doing repetitive operations, it is easy to make mistakes if your touch is carelessly aimed and you aren't focussed on what you are doing. A couple of times this has led me to delete data I didn't mean to delete. Battery Battery life seems to be shorter than advertised. I have switched to rechargeables which seem to last about 8-10 hours. Filing System The filing system is good. The GPS comes up on my Macintosh as a USB drive. Easy to add/copy/delete files on the gps using my computer without need to use any specialized programs. (The Macintosh trash must be emptied before deleted files are truly actually from the GPS unit.) Bugs A bug in calculating distances appears to have been cleared up by a more recent upgrade downloaded from Garmin. Camera I think this is the weakest link. It produces low quality pictures requiring a fair amount of light. I had hoped the 550 would lighten my pack by letting me leave my camera at home. It hasn't worked out as hoped. Manual/Online tutorials Covers simple functions well, but there are many features that are not well described.
Recommend? YES
32 viewers found this helpful.
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Ed
Guelph
Apr 20, 2011
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OREGON 550
Pros: paaperless geocaching, built in camera
Cons: none to date
Found this GPS to be extremely user friendly. I have been using mostly for geocaching and have found it to be well suited for this purpose. I especially like the paperles geocaching feature of this unit and the fact that it has a built in camera. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for the latest in GPS technology.
Recommend? YES
32 viewers found this helpful.
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thomas,rick
sudbury,on
Dec 13, 2010
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OREGON 550
found this unit easy to learn about and operate. like the touchscreen.don't like the fact that you can't charge the batteries with your computer or the vehicle plug
Recommend? YES
45 viewers found this helpful.
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Gtrouvé
Victoriaville, Quebec.
Nov 29, 2010
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PRESQUE PARFAIT POUR LE GEOCACHING
Pros: je le recommande dans son ensemble.
Le compas est précis, la fonction "paperless est tres bien " Beaucoup de fonctions qu'il faut apprivoiser seul.
Recommend? YES
68 viewers found this helpful.
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wheelie jon
prince george
Sep 11, 2010
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BE PREPARED
Cons: to much money!!
to leave your wallet open to garmin..i would think after spending $600 on this unit i would at least get logging/forestry roads in norhtern bc..no i have to buy a birds eye subscription on top of it all!..$30 a year!!..ive been suckerd
Recommend? NO
63 viewers found this helpful.
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Dave
Williams Lake BC
Sep 6, 2010
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GARMIN 550 W CAMERA AND TOPO
So far I am finding my way around this unit. I have never used a GPS and maybe this one has too much stuff in it. I think it would be nice to get a printed operators manual for when you are in the field. Having to look everything up on the computer does not help if you are in the bush. Maps are good but very limited in names on it and no forestry roads. I think Backroads GPS Maps for your area will be a better choice depending on what you are doing. Other then that a sturdy unit with lots of features. Just have to learn to run them all!
Recommend? YES
50 viewers found this helpful.
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ROSS
BRANTFORD, ONT
Aug 10, 2010
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LOOKIN GOOD
I have only used it locally so far. looking forward to taking it on a extended trip soon. the expieriments so far have been great.
Recommend? YES
45 viewers found this helpful.
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gardenho
Camrose County, AB
Jun 28, 2010
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IT'S AWESOME!
Pros: excellent camera, easy to use
Cons: sketchy details in manual on various features
This is my first GPS, and the only reason I needed it was for work related purposes for recording coordinates offroad. I was apprehensive about using a perceived complicated digital device, but this unit is about as uncomplicated as can be!
Since it is the first I've used, I have nothing to compare to but as a 'virgin' GPS user, I can say I love it and found it very easy to configure, use and update. I downloaded the Garmin mapping software from their site (Basecamp software mapping came on the TOPO CD but has limited functionality), spent a few hours reading how to use it and the Garmin itself and was busy mapping within the day. The 'Birds Eye' feature available from Garmin by yearly subscription is awesome especially at only $30 a yr and provides me with the aerial view I need as background for my printed maps.
I found the touch screen very intuitive, and was thrilled to see I could remove any buttons not needed or put them at the end of the list so as not to have to scroll through them. Many features are configurable and I'm still learning how some work. The screen is very readable in bright sunlight much to my surprise, and was actually harder to view when indoors or in shade. It seems tough as nails and I have no qualms about hurting the screen or the unit in day to day use. Battery use is reasonable before needing recharging again, and I am happy it came with a big clip to attach it to the pack or waistband. The camera surprised me the most, pretty good quality and I am pretty happy about that as photos are also part of each work site evaluation so its one less thing I have to carry since the camera on the Oregon is more than adequate.
Complaints I have are the sketchy instructions and lack of info on each feature in the Garmin manual. I visited their web site and found a little more detailed info, but still pretty sketchy and on some features still not enough for me to figure out how to utilize it - like elevations and altimeter. What ever happened to explaining a feature in full, and giving examples of using it? Surely the book could be more detailed, not everyone has internet access and certainly not if you were out in the bush.
I also would have appreciated better descriptions on their web site as I purchased their downloadable western canada topo thinking it would be more detailed than the Canada Topo that came with the unit, only to find they are identical as far as I can tell, and of course they'll not refund for downloads so I wasted 90 bucks there. Hope someone else reading this benefits from knowing that.
All in all, I'm pretty happy with the unit (just not Garmin support) and if it were combined with a cell phone I'd be calling it perfect. To date all I've used it for is offsite mapping, but this weekend we'll be going on holidays, renting a car when we get there and using the GPS to navigate roads and cities so we'll see how it measures up for that.
Recommend? YES
64 viewers found this helpful.
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Heather
Kitchener, ON
Jun 12, 2010
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VERY HAPPY WITH OUR SELECTION
We did a lot of research before purchasing the Oregon 550 with Canada Topo. gpscity.ca had the best price around WITH the Canada Topo DVD. It's so easy to use. The camera is great to have when we're geocaching as it marks the exact spot of our photo. Kayaking with the waterproof camera is a win as well. For geocachers, it brings all the text across so we have all the hints and logs. I honestly don't have a bad thing to say about this unit.
Recommend? YES
70 viewers found this helpful.
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John
Seattle, WA
Jun 4, 2010
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GOOD GPS, BUT LIMITED FUNCTIONALITY IN CHINA
Pros: functional design, battery life, basic camera
Cons: need improvement/better map to work well in china
I purchased this GPS as a tool to assist me in a recent sightseeing trip to the Chinese countryside. Unfortunately, while acquiring satellites was achievable, there were two basic problems for this intended use.
First, there seems to be no detailed Garmin map for China - the world basemap with the Oregon 550 is simply not detailed enough to provide adequate, even basic information.
Second, the "China location error" problem precluded exact or reliable positioning - even in major cities. My Oregon 550 unit showed me, for instance, in the middle of a major river (Songhua Jiang, Heilongjiang) or lake (Xuanwu Lake, Jiangsu), rather than on some quiet street or at a hotel. Nevertheless, the camera performed better than expected within the limitations of a 3.2 megapixel digital camera. It was very good to be able to associate a picture with a waypoint.
There is a real need for Garmin to make a basic, functional China map and for Garmin to solve the "China location error" problem, which affects (apparently) other Garmin units as well as (I learned) this Oregon 550 unit.
Recommend? YES
69 viewers found this helpful.
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J-Po
Hamilton, Ontario
Jun 1, 2010
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PAPERLESS FEATURE IS FANTASTIC!
I love my Garmin! Very easy to navigate around the menu system, and I like that I can customize it to fit my needs. The paperless geocaching feature is amazing! No more printouts, so more eco-friendly. I have noticed, however, that the Garmin 60CSx is consistently more accurate, by several feet--this counts when you're looking for a micro cache. Maybe because of the external antenna on the CSx? Still, I wouldn't trade my GPS, just because of the paperless feature, which is priceless. It means I have to search a little more to get my cache, but I'm okay with that. This unit is a rugged little guy, too. I've knocked this thing about pretty badly, dunked it a couple of times, and it just keeps on ticking. It's been handy having the camera feature when in a pinch, but I rarely use it, as it sucks battery power like mad! So I still have to carry around my camera when I want to take more than a couple of pictures. Generally, the battery life is good when you don't use the camera, and if you set the default backscreen lighting to off, except when in use. The compass works great, but make sure you calibrate it on a table so you get better accuracy, rather than in your hands. And be sure to recalibrate every time you change the batteries. Communicating between other, similar Garmins is another nice feature. My geofriend shared some cache coordinates and info with me with a flick of her fingers. I've been using it for onroad navigating too, but the maps weren't entirely up-to-date, but still better than the maps of my Magellan car GPS. Maybe that's not Magellan's fault--I don't want to pay for an update. Another problem with the onroad mapping is that I couldn't select an alternate route--it only takes you via the shortest distance (unless I just haven't figured this out yet). This doesn't work when it takes you to a ferry crossing that's closed for the night! (which is what happened to me on Vancouver Island) Still, it's nice that with the touch of a couple of 'buttons' it changes to onroad navigation and gives me a couple of gentle audio warnings as I approach my turns. The computer interface isn't as user-friendly as I would have liked, but their help feature had me uploading maps to my unit in no time. With the topo software, this device was pretty expensive, but in my opinion is worth every penny. So much so, I bought a second one to give to my son for his birthday. As for GPScity.ca, they put my purchase in the mail the same day I ordered, both times, and I had my new gadget in 2-3 days. GPScity also had the cheapest price, aside from Ebay. No regrets here. NB No lanyard included.
Recommend? YES
65 viewers found this helpful.
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Michael Poczynek
Summerside, PE, Canada
May 17, 2010
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UPGRADED FROM A COLORADO 300.
Pros: excellent touch screen/waterproof.
Cons: tough/impossible to upload my own background maps.
I purchased this mainly because it took way too long to input waypoints and edit the names on the Colorado 300 spinner wheel. I find the 550 very impressed and great to use. I did however find it practically impossible to get a good background image. Bird's eye images are useless in all the areas I looked at, and when I tried to import jpeg file after jpeg there was nothing that seemed to work.
Recommend? YES
69 viewers found this helpful.
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ARCS
Halifax NS
Apr 23, 2010
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GARMIN 550 WITH CAMERA
Pros- Battery life quite good given all the bells and whistles. Lock on very fast even in poor areas. Paperless Geocaching quite good - drag and drop GPX files and it's all there. Bit of a learning curve tho. Screen is curious - You need either direct sunlight or quite dark conditions to see the screen. Direct sunlight view is excellent, backwards to what you'd think. Indirect light and it's bloody awful. Camera is fine. Being waterproof is an interesting aspect for underwater pics. Lightweight. Lanyard fastens at the bottom but it maintains lock-on even hanging from you neck upside down. Seems tough - I fell hard enough to go to hosp for stiches and it didn't complain. Garmin support is still great - a very bad firm ware defect with the map lableing was fixed very quickly. Cons- BIG con- Caches found are listed by distance from present position - not by date or time. Very confusing to log caches found on different days. Calendar is useless really - on my 60C the date shows what you found on that day, not this one. It's just a calendar. Camera has no self timer - should be just software to add that. BIG con - can't delete individual caches (ie found caches) they stay there till you delete the entire file from a computer. The waypoint manager should see geocaches as waypoint and be able to manipulate them too. Far too dependant on a computer connection. Manual is just so-so. Very thin info. Spent alot of time just poking around the menus. Shuts off when you disconnect from computer. Why? Should be able to put Geocaching 'dachboard' at top of map.
These are my obs having only had it a couple of weeks. GPSmap 60's are way cheaper and do a great job. The 550 is excellent in manyways but 'immature' for lack of a better work. It's like they didn't talk to the folks who worked on the 60's to find out what were the good ideas from the past models. Magellan has suffered from this problem with legacy GPS's too but they seem to have learned with their new Geocaching dedicated model. A very experienced caching friend of mine is thrilled with his new magellan at a 1/3 of the cost of the 550 (far fewer bells and whistles but still).
Recommend? NO OPINION
80 viewers found this helpful.
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ultracat
Berwick, NS
Dec 24, 2009
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TOP QUALITY GEOCACHING GPS
Pros: clear display, touchscreen beats pushbuttons
Cons: no built-in temperature gauge
Overall very pleased with the functionality and versatility of this unit. It has almost every function you could imagine wanting for an outdoor geocaching GPS. The display is clear and the main menu functions are intuitive. With a 2GB card installed, it has all the data space I'll probably ever need. On the downside, this unit does not have a built-in temperature gauge (like my old Magellan Meridian Platinum did), some of the smaller touchscreen functions are difficult to press correctly (like the alphabet screen), and it takes a while to figure out how to use the many different functions of the unit (for example, how to switch from road-tracking to off-road-tracking to waypoint). Camera is convenient (it associates the pic to a map icon specific to the place where the pic was taken) and gives relatively good quality pictures when set at it highest setting. This unit should remain very useful to me and my family for many years to come. WARNING: with top quality GPS comes top-quality pricing too the lesser Garmin Oregons have most of the functions of this unit, minus the camera and some of the built-in memory capacity. Basecamp software with Canada Topo map is an excellent computer application with all desired functinos.
Recommend? YES
100 viewers found this helpful.
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Grey Wolfe
Calgary
Sep 8, 2009
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OK
Pros: nice maps
Cons: no hard copy guide and takes some figuring out.
The maps are exelent but the fact that the guide is on dvd causes problems as you can not refer to anything on the trail. This unit is convienient for taking pictures.
Recommend? NO OPINION
146 viewers found this helpful.
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(4.4/5.0 based on 23 ratings)
